Why does Tether specifically accuse Ripple CEO of being “confused” in the context of a money laundering case?

Tether Freezes $5.2 Million Worth of USDT
Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT, has recently frozen $5.2 million worth of USDT, which is linked to prevalent “phishing scams” and is held in 12 suspicious Ethereum wallets.
According to SlowMist, a blockchain analytics company, these wallets have been previously used for money laundering in phishing scams. Criminals use phishing emails or fake websites to deceive victims into providing personal and account information, and then transfer the funds to different accounts to make them harder to trace.
In fact, Tether has been actively combating criminal money flows. Since its inception, Tether has frozen $1.3 billion in suspicious assets related to hacking attacks, fraud, and even financing of terrorist activities, with approximately $1.6 million associated with terrorist financing.
Further reading:
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Tether collaborates closely with law enforcement agencies to strictly monitor illegal wallets and money flows.
Tether maintains strict monitoring of suspicious USDT addresses and typically blacklists them.
For example, the company blocked three Ethereum USDT addresses holding over $150 million worth of USDT in January 2022. Then, in October 2022, Tether froze $8.2 million worth of Ethereum USDT and blacklisted 215 Ethereum addresses.
Tether also responds swiftly to money flows related to terrorist attacks, including $817,000 worth of USDT associated with actions in Ukraine or Israel in October 2023. In November 2023, $225 million worth of USDT from romance scams was frozen.
In March 2024, Tether, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), seized $1.4 million worth of USDT from a fraud network related to technical support.
Earlier this year, the United Nations stated in a report that USDT is the preferred cryptocurrency for money laundering due to its ease of transfer and widespread use. This sparked speculation that the U.S. government may launch an investigation. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, the issuer of XRP, recently speculated on the podcast “World Class” that the U.S. government is about to investigate Tether, despite its important role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino responded by calling Garlinghouse an ignorant CEO leading a company under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ardoino pointed out that Garlinghouse is spreading fear about USDT.
In his post, Ardoino emphasized that USDT is the most widely used stablecoin in the world, with hundreds of millions of users in emerging markets and developing countries. He highlighted the company’s transparency through blockchain technology and its collaboration with global law enforcement agencies to ensure security. So far, Tether has partnered with 24 law enforcement agencies and has received 198 requests to freeze wallets in the past year.
Source:
CoinTelegraph
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CoinMarketCap